1. Home
  2. Research
  3. Almanac

January 16, 1972

Introduction

This almanac page for Sunday, January 16, 1972, pulls together various records created by the federal government and links to additional resources which can provide context about the events of the day.

Previous Date: Saturday, January 15, 1972

Next Date: Monday, January 17, 1972

Schedule and Public Documents

  • The Daily Diary files represent a consolidated record of the President's activities. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    The President's day began at Camp David, Maryland

  • The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents made available transcripts of the President's news conferences; messages to Congress; public speeches, remarks, and statements; and other Presidential materials released by the White House.

    Digitized versions can be found at HathiTrust.

  • The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents.

    No Federal Register published on this date

Archival Holdings

Any selection of archival documents will necessarily be partial. You should use the documents and folders identified below as a starting place, but consult the linked collection finding aids and folder title lists and the collections themselves for context. Many documents to be found this way do not lend themselves to association with specific dates, but are essential to a complete understanding of the material.

  • Selective document listing

    President's Office Files

    The President's Office Files consists of materials drawn together by the Special Files Unit from several administrative subdivisions within the White House Office. It is the handwriting and sensitive papers sent to the Staff Secretary that now comprise much of the President's Office Files. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

  • The H. R. Haldeman Diaries consists of seven handwritten diaries, 36 dictated diaries recorded as sound recordings, and two handwritten audio cassette tape subject logs. The diaries and logs reflect H. R. Haldeman’s candid personal record and reflections on events, issues, and people encountered during his service in the Nixon White House. As administrative assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, Haldeman attended and participated in public events and private meetings covering the entire scope of issues in which the Nixon White House engaged in during the years 1969-1973. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Transcript of diary entry (PDF)
      Sunday, January 16.

      The President called at noon to see how things were going. Said he was amused by the Howard Hughes story in the paper today referring to the Nixon loan, said he had never met Howard Hughes, that he had talked to him once on the phone regarding sending a 707 to Russia.

      He says he's finished the tenth draft of the State of the Union that he's not going to do much more on it. He doesn't want Ray to circulate it, he thinks it's basically okay now. He's taking a different tone than his opponents, because he's not strident, not hypoed, on a theory that politics is already turning people off, especially outside of Washington DC. I think he's right. He said he dictated a long memo on the Vietnam speech, so as soon as Safire b-- gets back, he can get to work on it, although it will definitely not be Tuesday night. There are a lot of technical things in the offer that we can't get ready in time. He's going to insist, though, on Safire having a speech done by Tuesday night, so the President won't have to work on it over the weekend.

      Rogers called later this afternoon, first, to say that Muskie did pretty well on the television that the reporters went after him hard but he came out very well on it. He kept his cool as they interrupted him, and so on. What he was really calling about was the memo from Kissinger. Said I have a preemptory memo from Henry and I won't take it. I have orders from the President and I'm following those. I thought we had an understanding here that this was a two way thing. The theory is that the President has announced his policy, the State Department's carrying it out. He doesn't mind checking with Henry if Henry agrees to check with him too, and now he wants to talk to the President about it. He thinks it's hurting the whole situation. I raised the question of why the NSC wasn't in the meetings with the Israelis and he said they're not there because they're not supposed to be in operations, especially regarding the Mideast. He says we've been doing this for three years, and it's worked well. Why should we change it now? He says why should he get a preemptory message from Kissinger, he hasn’t had a-- when he hasn't had a chance to talk to the President? If he's going to do this, it has to be on a cooperative basis. For instance, he hasn't got a copy of the State of the World, but State has. He hasn't gotten a communiqué he asked for two weeks ago. He says this is not fair when Kissinger and Rogers have a problem for Rogers to get hit on it. He said the Kissinger memo is not they have agr-- what we agreed on at all, because it doesn't say it's a three-way communication, or that I'll keep you advised. Kissinger doesn't say he'll let Rogers know anything. Rogers says he would never consider writing Henry such a memo. Because Kissinger goes in and complains to the President all the time, he gets his way. Rogers doesn't complain, so he gets left out. He said he'd be glad to sit down together with the President and Henry to work together on this thing. That we've got to work it out, but he sees no reason why he should be kept out. He agrees that State people have to be kept out of some things, but not Bill. He says he's had newspaper people tell him what the NSC people have said to them, but he doesn't care about that. He says the President knows all about the Israel stuff, that he has memos from the President regarding what he should do. That the policy in the Mideast has been good, and he will not have Henry second guessing him all the time. He's happy to keep the President fully advised. He says the meetings he's had with Rabin were pursuant to a directive from the President. He doesn't want the thing to end up as if State is withholding things. The main thing is that Kissinger doesn't keep Rogers advised at all of what he's doing. For instance he knows nothing about the Russia and China trips except what Al told him the other day. Therefore, he will disregard the instructions from Kissinger, he's not working for Kissinger. If the President will-- wants to tell him, I don't want you to know about Russia and so forth, then at least he'll know where he stands, but when the President says I want Bill to know everything, then he expects to know it, without Kissinger screwing it up.

      End of January 16.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

  • The National Archives Catalog is the online portal to the records held at the National Archives, and information about those records. It is the main way of describing our holdings and also provides access to electronic records and digitized versions of our holdings. 

    The Catalog searches across multiple National Archives resources at once, including archival descriptions, digitized and electronic records, authority records, and web pages from Archives.gov and the Presidential Libraries. The Catalog also allows users to contribute to digitized historical records through tagging and transcription.

    Nixon Library Holdings

    All National Archives Units

National Security Documents

  • The President's Daily Brief is the primary vehicle for summarizing the day-to-day sensitive intelligence and analysis, as well as late-breaking reports, for the White House on current and future national security issues. Read "The President's Daily Brief: Delivering Intelligence to Nixon and Ford" to learn more.

    • No President's Daily Brief delivered on this date

  • The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Visit the State Department website for more information.

    Vol. E-7, Documents on South Asia, 1969-1972

    U.S. Relations with India and Pakistan, 1972

    Vol. E-7, Documents on South Asia, 1969-1972

    U.S. Relations with India and Pakistan, 1972

    • 205. Telegram 642 From the Embassy in India to the Department of State, New Delhi, January 16, 1972, 0711Z

      Ambassador Keating reported that Foreign Secretary Kaul told him that his Government felt the time had come to improve relations between India and the United States.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL INDIA–US. Confidential; Limdis. Repeated to Islamabad, Moscow, London, Madras, Calcutta, Bombay, and Bangkok for Nelson Gross, the Secretary’s Coordinator for International Narcotics Affairs.

  • The Kissinger telephone conversation transcripts consist of approximately 20,000 pages of transcripts of Kissinger’s telephone conversations during his tenure as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1974) and Secretary of State (1973-1974) during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Visit the finding aid for more information.

    Digitized versions can be found in the National Archives Catalog.

Audiovisual Holdings

Context (External Sources)